Sir Keir Starmer will sign a new strategic partnership with Brussels at a summit on 19 May. The draft preamble apparently states that the UK and the EU are committed to similar ‘geopolitical values’. This is all part of Labour’s ‘reset’ with Europe intended to return Britain to the EU’s orbit in everything from phytosanitary and food safety alignment to defence and security.
That Britain and the EU share geopolitical values is no scoop. Such utterances are the ‘motherhood and apple pie’ of all summits. Where allies so often disagree is less on objectives than priorities. Aligning Britain’s defence and security with the EU will mean bowing to the EU’s priorities – which are not always the same as the UK’s.
Locking Britain’s defence and security into Brussels decision-making is a step too far
Take Ukraine. Both Britain and the EU were agreed on the objective of maintaining Ukraine’s independence before Russia’s invasion.
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